Big (an excerpt)
by Bethofbells
Summary: Exploring Mindy and Rishi's relationship somewhat when they still lived at home with their parents. This is an excerpt from ch 20 of Take a Breath. I liked it enough to post it by itself.


**A/N: This is an excerpt from Take a Breath. I just liked it a lot and thought I would post it as a stand alone thing here.**

1997

Mindy was sitting on her bed painting her fingernails listening to music on the little pink boom box sitting on her night stand. The music was some kicky pop flowing out at a low volume. She mouthed the words and bobbed her head. She was wearing her favorite flannel pajamas. The ones that were way too big, but oh so comfy.

She glanced up at the sound of the door hinge squeaking. Rishi was standing there, his head barely higher than the doorknob. His bare feet poked out from under his pajamas. She was struck once again how small he was for his age. She reached over and turned off the music. "I didn't wake you up did I?"

He slipped further into her room and shut the door behind him, shaking his head and tugging at the bottom of his shirt. "I can't sleep."

She set the nail polish down and waved her hands in front of her. "Come here." She pointed to the bed beside her.

He smiled and sprinted over to the bed pouncing on it. He crossed his legs, imitating his sister. She looked down at him, his thin little shoulders poking against the white cotton of his night shirt. "Can we watch a movie?"

She gave him a knowing look. "Can't sleep, eh? This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" She really should make him go back to his room.

He looked up at her doing his best doe-eyes, his little mouth slightly turned down. "Mom and Dad only let me watch educational ones. You have all the good ones, with bad words in them too." He was getting really good at this. Just a slight wheedling tone combined with that puppy look. She supposed he learned from the best. It was the exact look she gave her parents when begging for tickets to the Jewel concert.

She gave in. "Alright alright." As soon as the words left her mouth he had jumped back down off the bed and scurried underneath it, pulling out a large shoe box. She kept her movie collection hidden as though they were dirty, which to her parents, they were. They thought they were trash that distracted her from her education. Whatever.

He slipped one out and hurried over to her TV, popping the tape in the VCR and hitting play. "Which one?" She asked even though she knew the answer. He jumped back into the bed, this time snuggling under the big fluffy blankets. She got up and flipped the light switch off, leaving only one lamp and the blue glow of the tv to light the room.

He glanced up at her with a grin. "The one with the boy who wishes he was big and then wakes up and he's big, and there's that one part where they play the giant piano with their feet, but later he doesn't like being big." The words came out in an excited rush.

She scooted in beside him. "You know, Rish, it's not that hard to remember the name of this movie. You said it like three times while describing it to me." She put one arm around him, letting him use her as a head rest.

He nestled into her, yawning loudly. "Big. Big. Big."

She looked down at him. He wouldn't make it through the whole movie, he almost never did. She tilted back and settled in to enjoy watching Tom Hanks act like a ten year old boy.

An hour later she peeked down at him and he was snoring lightly. She flipped the covers back and scooped him up. He was heavier than he looked. She huffed a little on the way to the door. He stirred and looked up at her. "Mindy?"

She stopped and looked down at him. "Good, you're awake. I don't think I can get the door open without putting you down." She bent over and sat him down.

He rubbed the sleep in his eyes. "Do you have to leave?"

Confusion swept across her features and she knelt down to look him in the eyes. "What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere. I'm just putting you to bed."

She patted him on the shoulder and started to stand. He looked down at the floor. "I mean to college. Mom and dad say you're going to college, to be a doctor, and that you'll only come home on Christmas." He frowned, his lip quivering just a little. He bit it and looked back up at her. "Who's going to take me to soccer practice?"

A vice squeezed around her heart. She was already going to be homesick when she left, but this was too much. The little boy standing in front of her meant more to her than any other person in her life. She remembered when she found out her mom was pregnant. She'd had a meltdown of epic proportions. She just knew a sibling would ruin her life.

She'd held him when her mom had brought him home, and she'd been astonished at how little he was, and how delicate. She'd cradled him nervously, afraid he would break, but she'd instantly been in love.

Now he was standing in front of her, on the verge of tears, and she was just staring at him in silence. He continued on. "You always take me after school, and I don't like it when mom comes because she makes me wear the big shin guards, the other kids make fun of me, 'cause I'm so much smaller, but they don't do that when you're there, 'cause you told Eddie Tudeski you'd stick his head in a toilet if he called me a shrimp again." The words poured out quickly, taking no pauses for breaths. When he reached the end he took a big gulp of air.

Mindy stayed on her knees and drew him in for a hug. She completely enveloped him. "I love you, Rish. It doesn't matter where I am, you can call me any time, and I'll visit more often than just Christmas. You tell Eddie and his stupid friends that I have connections with the mob."

They both had tears streaming down their cheeks. Mindy pulled back and wiped Rishi's face with the sleeve of her pajamas, and then tended to her own. She stood up and opened her door. "Come on, you have to go to bed or you'll never be able to wake up in the morning."

He followed her down the hall. "I wish I would wake up big tomorrow, then I could go with you."

She reached down and squeezed his shoulder. "When you really are big, you can come visit me in the city, and we'll stay up and watch movies just like we do now, ok?"


End file.
